Flat panel displays, which may comprise, for example, liquid crystal displays (“LCD's”), are becoming increasingly common and are often used as monitors for personal computers, replacing the bulky cathode ray tube (“CRT”) monitors that have heretofore been used. When used for this purpose, the displays are normally rectangular and are mounted on a user's desk in front of a keyboard with the long dimension of the rectangular panel oriented horizontally in what is commonly referred to as “landscape” orientation. Flat panel displays are thinner and lighter than CRT's and thus take up far less space on a desktop or workspace. Their light weight also allows them to be positioned more easily than CRT's, and supports are known that allow such flat panel displays to be tilted or to be rotated between a landscape orientation and a portrait orientation wherein the longer dimension of the screen is vertical. An example of a tiltable display is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,812,368, and an example of a rotatable displays is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,189,850.
Flat panels displays are also used in PED's where they are integrated with a digitizing tablet using, for example, electromagnetic resonance technology and a pen-like input device. A PED allows a computer user to move a screen cursor, click on icons, draw in an application, or otherwise interact with a computer operating system or its resident applications by means of a pen that is moved to the appropriate location on the screen. The screen cursor follows the location of the pen, and pressing the tip switch of the pen to the display or pressing a switch on the pen causes a desired action to occur. The location of the pen on or above the display screen may be determined by a number of different technologies, such as electromagnetic resonance (as in tablets made by Wacom Technology Company), resistive, capacitive or other touch-sensitive films, and other sensing technologies that are well known in the art. PED's may be connected to a separate computer unit through a wired or wireless connection, or may be integrated with a computer as in so-called Tablet PC's or hand-held Palm brand electronic organizers. When the digitizing tablet in the PED is able to detect the amount of force with which the pen is pressed against the surface of the display (e.g. by means of a tip pressure sensor in the pen, or if the touch-sensitive film is able to detect the amount of pressure applied to it with the pen tip), varying the pressure applied with the pen can affect the appearance of the image created on the screen, allowing the user to work with the PED in much the same way he works with pen and paper.
One example of a PED is available from Wacom Technology Company under the brand name “Cintiq 15X.” This device includes a screen mounted in a housing and a leg projecting from the housing rear that allows the screen to be inclined at a small angle when the PED is used for drawing or at a larger angle when the device is used primarily as a display. However, the leg is not removable, making the device difficult to support on one's lap, and does not permit the screen and housing to be rotated.
For greater comfort while drawing, and to facilitate accurate curves and pencil strokes, traditional artists and animators working on paper often rotate the paper, adjust its incline on a stand, or hold it on their lap. Such users may also wish to use a PED in a similar manner or to rest the lower edge of the PED in their lap and the back side against a desk or table. Stands are known that allow a flat panel display to be rotated or tilted, but these stands usually support displays at some distance above a surface so that they can be viewed as a monitor and cannot readily be disconnected from a display to allow the display to be used apart from the stand. And, while such supports are generally adequate for supporting a flat screen in a generally vertical display orientation or in a relatively horizontal drawing mode, they do not allow a display to be removed for lap use. It would therefore be desirable to provide a stand for a display that accomplishes these objectives and that also allows the display to be rotated between landscape and portrait orientations and to be readily detached so that the display device can be used as a tablet on a person's lap.